Chapter 92: One Body, Three Souls—Demon King Piccolo, Yamcha, ???
"Demon Light Cannon!!!"
The golden beam shot straight toward them. Just a split second earlier, Franklin grabbed Goku and dodged to the side. The golden beam grazed past them. As Franklin finally exhaled in relief—
"Demon Light Penetrating Cannon!!!"
The moment he heard the shout, a crushing sense of danger surged through him again. Before he could react, searing pain spread across his back.
In the blink of an eye, a golden beam pierced straight through both their bodies. Goku's scream rang in Franklin's ears, making his scalp go numb.
His own body could no longer feel pain—just a hollow emptiness, as though a gust of wind blew straight through him.
He crashed heavily onto the ground again, still holding Goku tightly. Goku was already unconscious.
When Franklin felt the slow but steady beat of Goku's heart, he exhaled in relief—but that sense of danger only grew stronger.
After a brief moment of thought, Franklin hardened his resolve. He reached into the gaping wound, slipped his hand into Goku's chest, and pinched his heart still.
Franklin knew he was nothing more than a cripple now. Only Goku posed a real threat to Demon King Piccolo. If Goku could feign death and fool him, and if Piccolo left, then they might still have a chance to survive.
The surge of danger spiked again. A powerful force slammed into Franklin's back, sending him flying with Goku still in his arms.
"I remember you—Franklin, right? Bet you didn't expect me to survive that, did you?"
Another brutal kick struck him, and Franklin was sent crashing through several trees before hitting the ground hard. Blood gushed from his mouth. Even through the pain, he couldn't stop turning over Piccolo's words in his head.
"Don't get it? Here's a hint. Desert bandit. The one you toyed with and left for dead."
Franklin's pupils contracted sharply. He could hardly believe his ears.
"Still playing dead? Nah, wait—you're not going to last long either. I won't kill you now. Once I gather all seven Dragon Balls and restore my youth… heh heh heh… your family, your friends, I'll repay them all one by one."
Rage boiled up in Franklin's chest. The thought of burning away the last of his life just to take this bastard down flooded his mind.
And then, Piccolo's tone suddenly changed. "Screw you. You're just some loser bandit who got killed because you were weaker. And now you want revenge? You really deserve to die."
The strange voice spoke, and Franklin was kicked flying again. "And you're a piece of trash too. You beat a bandit and still let him live. Now you're just reaping what you sowed."
Humiliated like that, Franklin found himself speechless.
Then Yamcha's voice rang out from Piccolo's body. "We agreed—I'm in control of the body right now. What the hell are you two trying to pull?!"
An old, strange voice followed. "This body is mine. You two outsiders—what the hell are you? How did you enter my body and take over it?!"
Hearing three distinct voices coming from inside Piccolo's body left Franklin utterly stunned.
"Enough of this crap. We need to collect the Dragon Balls. I'm going back to my world after this. You two can fight all you want once I'm gone. The revenge is done. That's it."
The old voice replied, "This wreck of a body won't last until the next Dragon Ball hunt. This time, the wish must be to restore youth."
Yamcha's voice echoed again. "I agree. We need to regain our youth first, or we'll all die together."
"Damn it, neither of you are any good. If I didn't have business back in my world, I'd kill you both right now."
As they bickered, Piccolo took off into the sky. With a surge of spiritual energy, he vanished in an instant.
Franklin's scalp tingled. Pushing away the storm of chaotic thoughts, he quickly released Goku's heart, letting blood flow resume.
Then, he took out his last remaining vial of medicine. After drinking a small portion to stop his own bleeding, he poured the rest into Goku's mouth.
As Goku's heart began to beat on its own again, Franklin pulled his hand out of the bloody hole. He watched as the wound sealed rapidly before his eyes and exhaled a long breath.
Once he confirmed his own wound had stopped bleeding, Franklin took a deep breath, grabbed the shrunken Power Pole, hoisted the unconscious Goku onto his back, and began walking slowly in the direction of the Flying Nimbus.
The forest thickened as he navigated through it. Twilight fell. At last, he saw a towering stone pillar stretching toward the heavens.
As he neared the base of Korin Tower, an open clearing appeared. Not far from the stone column, an Indian-style tent stood pitched.
Without disturbing anyone, Franklin headed straight for the tower's base. Just as he approached, a stone spear whistled past his side.
Following its trajectory, Franklin saw a bare-chested Native man standing before the tent, watching him warily.
"I'm a friend of Goku's. He's seriously injured and needs Korin's help. I'm here to climb Korin Tower."
"Goku's friend?"
The tall Native man walked closer, finally seeing Goku slumped weakly on Franklin's back—and Franklin himself barely standing.
"You can't. Korin Tower is extremely tall. You won't make it."
Franklin didn't get angry at the man's blunt denial. Staring up at the towering stone pillar, he felt the same doubt. But his mom had told him this was the shortcut to recover his body. No matter what, he had to try.
"I believe I can. And if I can't, I've got a way to get back down. This is Goku's Power Pole. It'll help."
Seeing the red staff, the man finally stopped trying to dissuade him. He took a long rope from his waist and securely tied Goku to Franklin's back.
With Goku strapped in place, Franklin didn't waste any more time. After waving goodbye to the Native man, he approached the massive pillar—so thick it would take two people to wrap their arms around it—and began climbing.
The moment his body pressed against the cold stone, he felt a strange, hidden power within it. He couldn't quite tell what it was.
Exhaling, he began climbing slowly upward. The first twenty meters weren't too bad, even for his broken body.
From twenty to fifty meters, the exhaustion hit him like a wall. By the time he barely reached a hundred meters, Franklin's body was completely spent. Looking up at the endless pillar above him, all he wanted to do was give up.
But feeling the faint pulse of Goku's breath behind him, remembering Piccolo's bizarre state, Yamcha's threats, and everything at stake—something deep inside Franklin surged up.
He took a deep breath and climbed faster toward the top of Korin Tower.
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